In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2017, the university had a total income of £1.71 billion, of which £458 million was from research grants and contracts.[2] This is the largest annual income of any university in the UK. The central university and colleges have combined net assets of around £11.8 billion, also the largest of any university in the UK.[12] The university is closely linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster known as "Silicon Fen". It is a member of numerous associations and forms part of the "golden triangle" of leading English universities and Cambridge University Health Partners, an academic health science centre.

Contents

By the late 12th century, the Cambridge region already had a scholarly and ecclesiastical reputation, due to monks from the nearby bishopric church of Ely. However, it was an incident at Oxford which is most likely to have formed the establishment of the university: two Oxford scholars were hanged by the town authorities for the death of a woman, without consulting the ecclesiastical authorities, who would normally take precedence (and pardon the scholars) in such a case, but were at that time in conflict with King John. The University of Oxford went into suspension in protest, and most scholars moved to cities such as Paris, Reading, and Cambridge. After the University of Oxford reformed several years later, enough scholars remained in Cambridge to form the nucleus of the new university.[19] In order to claim precedence, it is common for Cambridge to trace its founding to the 1231 charter from King Henry III granting it the right to discipline its own members (ius non-trahi extra) and an exemption from some taxes (Oxford would not receive a similar enhancement until 1248).[20]

The colleges at the University of Cambridge were originally an incidental feature of the system. No college is as old as the university itself. The colleges were endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, called hostels. The hostels were gradually absorbed by the colleges over the centuries, but they have left some indications of their existence, such as the name of Garret Hostel Lane.[24]

Hugh Balsham, Bishop of Ely, founded Peterhouse, Cambridge's first college, in 1284. Many colleges were founded during the 14th and 15th centuries, but colleges continued to be established until modern times, although there was a gap of 204 years between the founding of Sidney Sussex in 1596 and that of Downing in 1800. The most recently established college is Robinson, built in the late 1970s. However, Homerton College only achieved full university college status in March 2010, making it the newest full college (it was previously an "Approved Society" affiliated with the university).

In medieval times, many colleges were founded so that their members would pray for the souls of the founders, and were often associated with chapels or abbeys. A change in the colleges' focus occurred in 1536 with the Dissolution of the Monasteries. King Henry VIII ordered the university to disband its Faculty of Canon Law[25] and to stop teaching "scholastic philosophy". In response, colleges changed their curricula away from canon law, and towards the classics, the Bible, and mathematics.

Nearly a century later, the university was at the centre of a Protestant schism. Many nobles, intellectuals and even commoners saw the ways of the Church of England as being too similar to the Catholic Church and felt that it was used by the Crown to usurp the rightful powers of the counties. East Anglia was the centre of what became the Puritan movement. At Cambridge, it was particularly strong at Emmanuel, St Catharine's Hall, Sidney Sussex and Christ's College.[26] They produced many "non-conformist" graduates who greatly influenced, by social position or pulpit, the approximately 20,000 Puritans who left for New England and especially the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Great Migration decade of the 1630s. Oliver Cromwell, Parliamentary commander during the English Civil War and head of the English Commonwealth (1649–1660), attended Sidney Sussex.

Pure mathematics at Cambridge in the 19th century had great achievements but also missed out on substantial developments in French and German mathematics. Pure mathematical research at Cambridge finally reached the highest international standard in the early 20th century, thanks above all to G. H. Hardy, his collaborator J. E. Littlewood and Srinivasa Ramanujan. In geometry, W. V. D. Hodge brought Cambridge into the international mainstream in the 1930s.

Although diversified in its research and teaching interests, Cambridge today maintains its strength in mathematics. Cambridge alumni have won six Fields Medals and one Abel Prize for mathematics, while individuals representing Cambridge have won four Fields Medals.[29]

The University of Cambridge began to award PhD degrees in the first third of the 20th century. The first Cambridge PhD in mathematics was awarded in 1924.[34]

In the First World War, 13,878 members of the university served and 2,470 were killed. Teaching, and the fees it earned, came almost to a stop and severe financial difficulties followed. As a consequence the university first received systematic state support in 1919, and a Royal Commission appointed in 1920 recommended that the university (but not the colleges) should receive an annual grant.[35] Following the Second World War, the university saw a rapid expansion of student numbers and available places; this was partly due to the success and popularity gained by many Cambridge scientists.[36]

From 1921 women were awarded diplomas which "conferred the Title of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts". As they were not "admitted to the Degree of Bachelor of Arts" they were excluded from the governing of the university. Since students must belong to a college, and since established colleges remained closed to women, women found admissions restricted to colleges established only for women. Darwin College, the first wholly graduate college of the university, matriculated both men and women students from its inception in 1964 – and elected a mixed fellowship. Of the undergraduate colleges, starting with Churchill, Clare and King's Colleges, the former men's colleges began to admit women between 1972 and 1988. One of the female-only colleges, Girton, also began to admit male students from 1979, but the other female-only colleges did not do likewise. As a result of St Hilda's College, Oxford, ending its ban on male students in 2008, Cambridge is now the only remaining United Kingdom university with female-only colleges (Newnham, Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish).[39][40] In the academic year 2004–5, the university's student sex ratio, including post-graduates, was male 52%: female 48%.[41]

As an institution with such a long history, the university has developed a large number of myths and legends. The vast majority of these are untrue, but have been propagated nonetheless by generations of students and tour guides.

A discontinued tradition is that of the wooden spoon, the 'prize' awarded to the student with the lowest passing honours grade in the final examinations of the Mathematical Tripos. The last of these spoons was awarded in 1909 to Cuthbert Lempriere Holthouse, an oarsman of the Lady Margaret Boat Club of St John's College. It was over one metre in length and had an oar blade for a handle. It can now be seen outside the Senior Combination Room of St John's. Since 1908, examination results have been published alphabetically within class rather than in strict order of merit. This made it harder to ascertain who was "entitled" to the spoon (unless there was only one person in the third class), and so the practice was abandoned.

The university occupies a central location within the city of Cambridge, with the students taking up a significant proportion (nearly 20%) of the town's population and heavily affecting the age structure.[44] Most of the older colleges are situated nearby the city centre and river Cam, along which it is traditional to punt to appreciate the buildings and surroundings.[45]

The university's School of Clinical Medicine is based in Addenbrooke's Hospital where students in medicine undergo their three-year clinical placement period after obtaining their BA degree,[52] while the West Cambridge site is undergoing a major expansion and will host a new sports development.[53] In addition, the Judge Business School, situated on Trumpington Street, provides management education courses since 1990 and is consistently ranked within the top 20 business schools globally by the Financial Times.[54]

Given that the sites are in relative close proximity to each other and the area around Cambridge is reasonably flat, one of the favourite modes of transport for students is the bicycle: a fifth of the journeys in the city are made by bike, a figure enhanced by the fact that students are not permitted to hold car park permits, except under special circumstances.[55]

The relationship between the university and the city has not always been positive. The phrase town and gown is employed to differentiate inhabitants of Cambridge from students at the university, who historically wore academical dress. There are many stories of ferocious rivalry between the two categories: in 1381, strong clashes brought about attacks and looting of university properties while locals contested the privileges granted by the government to the academic staff. Following these events, the Chancellor was given special powers allowing him to prosecute the criminals and re-establish order in the city. Attempts to reconcile the two groups followed over time, and in the 16th century agreements were signed to improve the quality of streets and student accommodation around the city. However, this was followed by new confrontations when the plague hit Cambridge in 1630 and colleges refused to help those affected by the disease by locking their sites.[56]

Nowadays, these conflicts have somewhat subsided and the university has become an opportunity for employment among the population, providing an increased level of wealth in the area.[57] The enormous growth in the number of high-tech, biotech, providers of services and related firms situated near Cambridge has been termed the Cambridge Phenomenon: the addition of 1,500 new, registered companies and as many as 40,000 jobs between 1960 and 2010 has been directly related to the presence and importance of the university.[58]

Cambridge is a collegiate university, meaning that it is made up of self-governing and independent colleges, each with its own property and income. Most colleges bring together academics and students from a broad range of disciplines, and within each faculty, school or department within the university, academics from many different colleges will be found.

The faculties are responsible for ensuring that lectures are given, arranging seminars, performing research and determining the syllabi for teaching, overseen by the General Board. Together with the central administration headed by the Vice-Chancellor, they make up the entire Cambridge University. Facilities such as libraries are provided on all these levels: by the university (the Cambridge University Library), by the Faculties (Faculty libraries such as the Squire Law Library), and by the individual colleges (all of which maintain a multi-discipline library, generally aimed mainly at their undergraduates).

The colleges are self-governing institutions with their own endowments and property, founded as integral parts of the university. All students and most academics are attached to a college. Their importance lies in the housing, welfare, social functions, and undergraduate teaching they provide. All faculties, departments, research centres, and laboratories belong to the university, which arranges lectures and awards degrees, but undergraduates receive their supervisions—small-group teaching sessions, often with just one student—within the colleges. Each college appoints its own teaching staff and fellows, who are also members of a university department. The colleges also decide which undergraduates to admit to the university, in accordance with university regulations.

Colleges are not required to admit students in all subjects, with some colleges choosing not to offer subjects such as architecture, history of art or theology, but most offer close to the complete range. Some colleges maintain a bias towards certain subjects, for example with Churchill leaning towards the sciences and engineering,[60] while others such as St Catharine's aim for a balanced intake.[61] Others maintain much more informal reputations, such as for the students of King's to hold left-wing political views,[62] or Robinson's and Churchill's attempts to minimise their environmental impact.[63]

Costs to students (accommodation and food prices) vary considerably from college to college.[64][65] Similarly, college expenditure on student education also varies widely between individual colleges.[66]

In addition to the 31 colleges, the university is made up of over 150 departments, faculties, schools, syndicates and other institutions.[69] Members of these are usually also members of one of the colleges and responsibility for running the entire academic programme of the university is divided amongst them. The university also houses the Institute of Continuing Education, a centre for part-time study.

The entrance to the administrative centre of the university, the Old Schools

A "School" in the University of Cambridge is a broad administrative grouping of related faculties and other units. Each has an elected supervisory body—the "Council" of the school—comprising representatives of the constituent bodies. There are six schools:[70]

Arts and Humanities

Biological Sciences

Clinical Medicine

Humanities and Social Sciences

Physical Sciences

Technology

Teaching and research in Cambridge is organised by faculties. The faculties have different organisational sub-structures which partly reflect their history and partly their operational needs, which may include a number of departments and other institutions. In addition, a small number of bodies called 'Syndicates' have responsibilities for teaching and research, e.g. Cambridge Assessment, the University Press, and the University Library.

The current Vice-Chancellor is Stephen Toope.[75] While the Chancellor's office is ceremonial, the Vice-Chancellor is the de facto principal administrative officer of the university. The university's internal governance is carried out almost entirely by its own members,[76] with very little external representation on its governing body, the Regent House (though there is external representation on the Audit Committee, and there are four external members on the University's Council, who are the only external members of the Regent House).[77]

The Senate consists of all holders of the MA degree or higher degrees. It elects the Chancellor and the High Steward, and elected two members of the House of Commons until the Cambridge University constituency was abolished in 1950. Prior to 1926, it was the university's governing body, fulfilling the functions that the Regent House fulfils today.[78] The Regent House is the university's governing body, a direct democracy comprising all resident senior members of the University and the Colleges, together with the Chancellor, the High Steward, the Deputy High Steward, and the Commissary.[79] The public representatives of the Regent House are the two Proctors, elected to serve for one year, on the nomination of the Colleges.

Although the University Council is the principal executive and policy-making body of the university, it must report and be accountable to the Regent House through a variety of checks and balances. It has the right of reporting to the university, and is obliged to advise the Regent House on matters of general concern to the university. It does both of these by causing notices to be published by authority in the Cambridge University Reporter, the official journal of the university. Since January 2005, the membership of the Council has included two external members,[80] and the Regent House voted for an increase from two to four in the number of external members in March 2008,[81][82] and this was approved by Her Majesty the Queen in July 2008.[83]

The General Board of the Faculties is responsible for the academic and educational policy of the university,[84] and is accountable to the Council for its management of these affairs.

Faculty Boards are responsible to the General Board; other Boards and Syndicates are responsible either to the General Board (if primarily for academic purposes) or to the Council. In this way, the various arms of the university are kept under the supervision of the central administration, and thus the Regent House.

In 2006–7, it was reported that approximately one third of Cambridge's income comes from UK government funding for teaching and research, with another third coming from other research grants. Endowment income contributes around £130 million. The university also receives a significant income in annual transfers from the Cambridge University Press.[85]

The University of Cambridge borrowed 350 million pounds by issuing a 40-year security bond in October 2012.[87] Its interest rate is about 0.6 percent higher than a British government 40-year bond. Vice chancellor Leszek Borysiewicz hailed the success of the issue.[88] In a 2010 report, the Russell Group of 20 leading universities made a conclusion that higher education could be financed by issuing bonds.[87]

Undergraduate applications to Cambridge must be made through UCAS in time for the early deadline, currently mid-October in the year before starting. Until the 1980s candidates for all subjects were required to sit special entrance examinations,[94] since replaced by additional tests for some subjects, such as the Thinking Skills Assessment and the Cambridge Law Test.[95] The university is considering reintroducing an admissions exam for all subjects with effect from 2016.[96] The university gives offers of admission to 33.5% of its applicants, the 2nd lowest amongst the Russell Group.[97] The acceptance rate for students in the 2014–2015 cycle was 21.0%.[98]

Most applicants who are called for interview will have been predicted at least three A-grade A-level qualifications relevant to their chosen undergraduate course, or the equivalent in other qualifications, such as getting at least 7,7,6 for higher-level subjects at IB. The A* A-level grade (introduced in 2010) now plays a part in the acceptance of applications, with the university's standard offer for most courses being set at A*AA,[99][100] with A*A*A for sciences courses. Due to a very high proportion of applicants receiving the highest school grades, the interview process is crucial for distinguishing between the most able candidates. The interview is performed by College Fellows, who evaluate candidates on unexamined factors such as potential for original thinking and creativity.[101] For exceptional candidates, a Matriculation Offer is sometimes offered, requiring only two A-levels at grade E or above. In 2006, 5,228 students who were rejected went on to get 3 A levels or more at grade A, representing about 63% of all applicants rejected.[102]

Strong applicants who are not successful at their chosen college may be placed in the Winter Pool, where they can be offered places by other colleges. This is in order to maintain consistency throughout the colleges, some of which receive more applicants than others.

Graduate admission is first decided by the faculty or department relating to the applicant's subject. When an offer is made, this effectively guarantees admission to a college—though not necessarily the applicant's preferred choice.[103]

Public debate in the United Kingdom continues over whether admissions processes at Oxford and Cambridge are entirely merit based and fair; whether enough students from state schools are encouraged to apply to Cambridge; and whether these students succeed in gaining entry. In 2007–08, 57% of all successful applicants were from state schools[106] (roughly 93 percent of all students in the UK attend state schools). Critics have argued that the lack of state school applicants with the required grades applying to Cambridge and Oxford has had a negative impact on Oxbridge's reputation for many years, and the university has encouraged pupils from state schools to apply for Cambridge to help redress the imbalance.[107] Others counter that government pressure to increase state school admissions constitutes inappropriate social engineering.[108][109] The proportion of undergraduates drawn from independent schools has dropped over the years, and such applicants now form a (very large) minority (43%)[106][110] of the intake. In 2005, 32% of the 3599 applicants from independent schools were admitted to Cambridge, as opposed to 24% of the 6674 applications from state schools.[111] In 2008 the University of Cambridge received a gift of £4m to improve its accessibility to candidates from maintained schools.[112] Cambridge, together with Oxford and Durham, is among those universities that have adopted formulae that gives a rating to the GCSE performance of every school in the country to "weight" the scores of university applicants.[113][not in citation given]

With the release of admissions figures, a 2013 article in The Guardian reported that ethnic minority candidates had lower success rates in individual subjects even when they had the same grades as white applicants. The university was hence criticised for what was seen as institutional discrimination against ethnic minority applicants in favour of white applicants. The university denied the claims of institutional discrimination by stating the figures did not take into account "other variables".[114] A following article stated that in the years 2010–2012 ethnic minority applicants to medicine with 3 A* grades or higher were 20% less likely to gain admission than white applicants with similar grades. The University refused to provide figures for a wider range of subjects claiming it would be too costly.[115]

There are a number of educational consultancies that offer support with the applications process. Some make claims of improved chances of admission but these claims are not independently verified. None of these companies are affiliated to or endorsed by the University of Cambridge. The university informs applicants that all important information regarding the application process is public knowledge and none of these services is providing any inside information. [116]

Cambridge University has been criticised because many colleges admit a low proportion of black students though many apply. Of the 31 colleges at Cambridge 6 admitted fewer than 10 black or mixed race students from 2012 to 2016.[117]

The academic year is divided into three academic terms, determined by the Statutes of the University.[118]Michaelmas term lasts from October to December; Lent term from January to March; and Easter term from April to June.

Within these terms undergraduate teaching takes place within eight-week periods called Full Terms. According to the university statutes, it is a requirement that during this period all students should live within 3 miles of the Church of St Mary the Great; this is defined as Keeping term. Students can graduate only if they fulfill this condition for nine terms (three years) when obtaining a Bachelor of Arts or twelve terms (four years) when studying for a Master of Science, Engineering or Mathematics.[119]

These terms are shorter than those of many other British universities.[120] Undergraduates are also expected to prepare heavily in the three holidays (known as the Christmas, Easter and Long Vacations).

Triposes involve a mixture of lectures (organised by the university departments), and supervisions (organised by the colleges). Science subjects also involve laboratory sessions, organised by the departments. The relative importance of these methods of teaching varies according to the needs of the subject. Supervisions are typically weekly hour-long sessions in which small groups of students (usually between one and three) meet with a member of the teaching staff or with a doctoral student. Students are normally required to complete an assignment in advance of the supervision, which they will discuss with the supervisor during the session, along with any concerns or difficulties they have had with the material presented in that week's lectures. The assignment is often an essay on a subject set by the supervisor, or a problem sheet set by the lecturer. Depending on the subject and college, students might receive between one and four supervisions per week.[121] This pedagogical system is often cited as being unique to Oxford (where "supervisions" are known as "tutorials")[122] and Cambridge.

A tutor named William Farish developed the concept of grading students' work quantitatively at the University of Cambridge in 1792.[123]

The University of Cambridge has research departments and teaching faculties in most academic disciplines. All research and lectures are conducted by university departments. The colleges are in charge of giving or arranging most supervisions, student accommodation, and funding most extracurricular activities. During the 1990s Cambridge added a substantial number of new specialist research laboratories on several sites around the city, and major expansion continues on a number of sites.[124]

Unlike in most universities, the Cambridge Master of Arts is not awarded by merit of study, but by right, four years after being awarded the BA.

At the University of Cambridge, each graduation is a separate act of the university's governing body, the Regent House, and must be voted on as with any other act. A formal meeting of the Regent House, known as a Congregation, is held for this purpose.[125]
This is the common last act at which all the different university procedures (for: undergraduate and graduate students; and the different degrees) land. After degrees are approved, to have them conferred candidates must ask to their Colleges to be presented during a Congregation. This happened until the 2006, when, for the first time, a Graduate Student (Dr Luca Epis) refused the degree approved by the Board of Graduate Studies, creating a "leading case" on the matter.[126]

University officials leading the Vice-Chancellor's deputy into the Senate House

Graduates receiving an undergraduate degree wear the academic dress that they were entitled to before graduating: for example, most students becoming Bachelors of Arts wear undergraduate gowns and not BA gowns. Graduates receiving a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD or Master's) wear the academic dress that they were entitled to before graduating, only if their first degree was also from the University of Cambridge; if their first degree is from another university, they wear the academic dress of the degree that they are about to receive, the BA gown without the strings if they are under 24 years of age, or the MA gown without strings if they are 24 and over.[127] Graduates are presented in the Senate House college by college, in order of foundation or recognition by the university, except for the royal colleges.

During the congregation, graduands are brought forth by the Praelector of their college, who takes them by the right hand, and presents them to the vice-chancellor for the degree they are about to take. The Praelector presents graduands with the following Latin statement (the following forms were used when the vice-chancellor was female), substituting "____" with the name of the degree:

(Most worthy Vice-Chancellor and the whole University, I present to you this man whom I know to be suitable as much by character as by learning to proceed to the degree of ____; for which I pledge my faith to you and to the whole University.)"

(Most worthy Vice-Chancellor and the whole University, I present to you this woman whom I know to be suitable as much by character as by learning to proceed to the degree of ____; for which I pledge my faith to you and to the whole University.)"

After presentation, the graduand is called by name and kneels before the vice-chancellor and proffers their hands to the vice-chancellor, who clasps them and then confers the degree through the following Latin statement—the Trinitarian formula (in nomine Patris...) may be omitted at the request of the graduand:

The university has 114 libraries.[128] The Cambridge University Library is the central research library, which holds over 8 million volumes. It is a legal deposit library, therefore it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland.[129] In addition to the University Library and its dependents, almost every faculty or department has a specialised library; for example, the History Faculty's Seeley Historical Library possesses more than 100,000 books. Furthermore, every college has a library as well, partially for the purposes of undergraduate teaching, and the older colleges often possess many early books and manuscripts in a separate library. For example, Trinity College'sWren Library has more than 200,000 books printed before 1800, while Corpus Christi College'sParker Library possesses one of the greatest collections of medieval manuscripts in the world, with over 600 manuscripts.

The university's publishing arm, the Cambridge University Press, is the oldest printer and publisher in the world, and it is the second largest university press in the world.[131][132]

The university set up its Local Examination Syndicate in 1858. Today, the syndicate, which is known as Cambridge Assessment, is Europe's largest assessment agency and it plays a leading role in researching, developing and delivering assessments across the globe.[133]

According to the 2016 Complete University Guide, the University of Cambridge is ranked first amongst the UK's universities; this ranking is based on a broad raft of criteria from entry standards and student satisfaction to quality of teaching in specific subjects and job prospects for graduates.[141] The University is ranked as the 2nd best university in the UK for the quality of graduates according to recruiters from the UK's major companies.[142]

In 2014–15, according to University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), Cambridge is ranked second in UK (coming second to Oxford) and ranked fifth in the world.[143]

In the 2001 and 2008 Government Research Assessment Exercises, Cambridge was ranked first in the country.[144] In 2005, it was reported that Cambridge produces more PhDs per year than any other British university (over 30% more than second placed Oxford).[145] In 2006, a Thomson Scientific study showed that Cambridge has the highest research paper output of any British university, and is also the top research producer (as assessed by total paper citation count) in 10 out of 21 major British research fields analysed.[146] Another study published the same year by Evidence showed that Cambridge won a larger proportion (6.6%) of total British research grants and contracts than any other university (coming first in three out of four broad discipline fields).[147]
The university is also closely linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster in and around Cambridge, which forms the area known as Silicon Fen or sometimes the "Cambridge Phenomenon". In 2004, it was reported that Silicon Fen was the second largest venture capital market in the world, after Silicon Valley. Estimates reported in February 2006 suggest that there were about 250 active startup companies directly linked with the university, worth around US$6 billion.[148]

Cambridge has been highly ranked by most international and UK league tables. In particular, it had topped the QS World University Rankings from 2010/11 to 2011/12.[149][150] A 2006 Newsweek overall ranking, which combined elements of the THES-QS and ARWU rankings with other factors that purportedly evaluated an institution's global "openness and diversity", suggested Cambridge was sixth around the globe.[151] In The Guardian newspaper's 2012 rankings, Cambridge had overtaken Oxford in philosophy, law, politics, theology, maths, classics, anthropology and modern languages.[152] In the 2009 Times Good University Guide Subject Rankings, it was ranked top (or joint top) in 34 out of the 42 subjects which it offers.[153] But Cambridge has been ranked only 30th in the world and 3rd in the UK by the Mines ParisTech: Professional Ranking of World Universities based on the number of alumni holding CEO position in Fortune Global 500 companies.

There are two Student Unions in Cambridge: CUSU (the Cambridge University Students Union) and the GU (the Graduate Union). CUSU represents all University students, and the GU solely represents graduate students. All students are automatically members of either CUSU or both CUSU and GU, depending on their course of study. [154][155]

CUSU was founded in 1964 as the Students' Representative Council (SRC); the six most important positions in the Union are occupied by Sabbatical officers.[156] However, turnout in recent elections has been low, with the 2014/15 president elected with votes in favour from only 7.5% of the whole student body.[157]

Rowing is a particularly popular sport at Cambridge, and there are competitions between colleges, notably the bumps races, and against Oxford, the Boat Race. There are also Varsity matches against Oxford in many other sports, ranging from cricket and rugby, to chess and tiddlywinks. Athletes representing the university in certain sports are entitled to apply for a Cambridge Blue at the discretion of the Blues Committee, consisting of the captains of the thirteen most prestigious sports. There is also the self-described "unashamedly elite" Hawks' Club, which is for men only, whose membership is usually restricted to Cambridge Full Blues and Half Blues.[158] The Ospreys are the equivalent female club.

The University of Cambridge Sports Centre opened in August 2013. Phase 1 included a 37x34m Sports Hall, a Fitness Suite, a Strength and Conditioning Room, a Multi-Purpose Room and Eton and Rugby Fives courts. Phase 1b included 5 glass backed squash courts and a Team Training Room. Future phases include indoor and outdoor tennis courts and a swimming pool.[159]

The university also has an Athletics Track at Wilberforce Road, an Indoor Cricket School and Fenner's Cricket Ground.

Numerous student-run societies exist in order to encourage people who share a common passion or interest to periodically meet or discuss. As of 2010, there were 751 registered societies.[160] In addition to these, individual colleges often promote their own societies and sports teams.

Although technically independent from the university, The Cambridge Union serves as a focus for debating and public speaking, as the oldest free speech society in the world, and the largest in Cambridge. Drama societies notably include the Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC) and the comedy club Footlights, which are known for producing well-known show-business personalities. The Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra explores a range of programmes, from popular symphonies to lesser known works; membership of the orchestra is composed of students of the university.

With a print run of 9,000, Varsity is the only student paper to go to print on a weekly basis. News stories from the paper have recently appeared in The Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, and The i.

Other student publications include The Cambridge Student, which is funded by Cambridge University Students’ Union and goes to print on a fortnightly basis, and The Tab. Founded by two Cambridge students in 2009, The Tab is online-only (apart from one print edition in Freshers’ Week), and mostly features light-hearted features content.

The Mays is a literary anthology made up of student prose, poetry, and visual art from both Cambridge and Oxford. Founded in 1992 by three Cambridge students, the anthology goes to print on an annual basis. It is overseen by Varsity Publications Ltd, the same body that is responsible for Varsity, the newspaper.

There are many other journals, magazines, and zines. Another literary journal, Notes, is published roughly two times per term. Many colleges also have their own publications run by students.

The student radio station, Cam FM, is run together with students from Anglia Ruskin university. One of few student radio stations to have an FM licence (frequency 97.2 MHz), the station hosts a mixture of music, talk, and sports shows.

In addition to university-wide representation, students can benefit from their own college student unions, which are known as JCR (Junior Combination Room) for undergraduates and MCR (Middle Combination Room) for postgraduates. These serve as a link between college staff and members and consists of officers elected annually between the fellow students; individual JCR and MCRs also report to CUSU, which offers training courses for some of the most delicate positions within the body.[161]

One privilege of student life at Cambridge is the opportunity to attend formal dinners at college. These are called Formal Hall and occur regularly during term time. Students sit down for a meal in their gowns, while Fellows eat separately at High Table: the beginning and end of the function is usually marked with a grace. Special Formal Halls are organised for events such as Christmas and the Commemoration of Benefactors.[162]

After the exam period, May Week is held and it is customary to celebrate by attending May Balls. These are all-night long lavish parties held in the colleges where food and drinks are served and entertainment is provided. Time magazine argues that some of the larger May Balls are among the best private parties in the world. Suicide Sunday, the first day of May Week, is a popular date for organising garden parties.[163]

Over the course of its history, a sizeable number of Cambridge University academics and alumni have become notable in their fields, both academic and in the wider world. Depending on criteria, affiliates of the University of Cambridge have won 118 Nobel prizes. Former undergraduates of the university have won a grand total of 61 Nobel prizes, 13 more than the undergraduates of any other university. Cambridge academics have also won 8 Fields Medals and 2 Abel Prizes, since the Abel award was first distributed in 2003.

Perhaps most of all, the university is renowned for a long and distinguished tradition in mathematics and the sciences.
Among the most famous of Cambridge natural philosophers is Sir Isaac Newton, who spent the majority of his life at the university and conducted many of his now famous experiments within the grounds of Trinity College. Sir Francis Bacon, responsible for the development of the scientific method, entered the university when he was just twelve, and pioneering mathematicians John Dee and Brook Taylor soon followed.

In biology, Charles Darwin, famous for developing the theory of natural selection, was an alumnus of Christ's College, though his education at the university was intended to allow him to become a clergyman. Subsequent Cambridge biologists include Francis Crick and James Watson, who worked out a model for the three-dimensional structure of DNA whilst working at the university's Cavendish Laboratory; fellow Cambridge graduates Maurice Wilkins and especially Rosalind Franklin produced key X-ray crystallography data, which was shared with Watson by Wilkins. Wilkins went on to help verify the proposed structure and win the Nobel Prize with Watson and Crick.

Despite Cambridge's delay in admitting women to full degrees, Cambridge women were at the heart of scientific research throughout the 20th century. Pioneering biochemist Marjory Stephenson studied at Cambridge, as did plant physiologist Gabrielle Howard, social anthropologist Audrey Richards. Psycho-analyst Alix Strachey, who with her husband translated the works of Sigmund Freud, studied at Newnham College. Kavli Prize-winner Brenda Milner, co-discovery of specialized brain networks for memory and cognition, was also a graduate of Newnham College. Veterinary epidemiologist Sarah Cleaveland has worked to eliminate rabies in the Serengeti.[164]

More recently, Sir Ian Wilmut, the man who was responsible for the first cloning of a mammal with Dolly the Sheep in 1996, was a graduate student at Darwin College. Famous naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough graduated from the university, while the ethologist Jane Goodall, the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees did a PhD in Ethology at Darwin College. Anthropologist Dame Alison Richard, former vice-chancellor of the university, is also a Newnham College graduate.

The university can be considered the birthplace of the computer, with mathematician Charles Babbage having designed the world's first computing system as early as the mid-1800s. Alan Turing went on to devise what is essentially the basis for modern computing and Maurice Wilkes later created the first programmable computer. The webcam was also invented at Cambridge University, as a means for scientists to avoid interrupting their research and going all the way down to the laboratory dining room only to be disappointed by an empty coffee pot.

Notable educationalists to have attended the university include the founders and early professors of Harvard University, including John Harvard himself; Emily Davies, founder of Girton College, the first residential higher education institution for women, and John Haden Badley, founder of the first mixed-sex school in England; and Anil Kumar Gain, prominent 20th century mathematician and founder of the Vidyasagar University in Bengal.

^Sastry, Tom; Bekhradnia, Bahram (25 September 2007). "The Academic Experience of Students in English Universities (2007 report)"(PDF). Higher Education Policy Institute. pp. footnote 14. Archived from the original(PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2007. Even within Russell Group institutions, it is remarkable how consistently Oxford and Cambridge appear to require more effort of their students than other universities. On the other hand, they have fewer weeks in the academic year than other universities, so the extent to which this is so may be exaggerated by these results.